Combination valance and conditioned air admission duct

ABSTRACT

In a structure adapted for human habitation there is provided in the ceiling of a room an elongated aperture parallel to and closely adjacent to a wall, particularly an outside wall provided with a window with which there may be associated a drapery. Depending from the ceiling paralleling and adjacent to the sides of the aperture are shallow and deep boards or panels, the former being located between the drapery and the aperture, and the latter being on the other side of the aperture. Above the ceiling and in communication with the aperture in the ceiling there is a plenum chamber to which is connected a duct for supplying heated, cooled or otherwise controllably conditioned air to the plenum chamber and through the aperture in the ceiling into the room. The depth of the shallower of the panels is preferably such as to overlap by a small amount the top of the drapery and thereby to serve as a baffle to direct the flow of air downwardly along the room side of the drapery rather than to permit the air to enter the space between the drapery and the window. The depth of the deeper board or panel is largely a matter of aesthetics, since it functions to serve as a valance and conceal from view the shallow baffle board and the aperture in the ceiling, except when the point of viewing is more or less directly below the valance boards, as well as serving the function of confining the initial flow of air to a downward direction along the wall. The aperture may be provided with adjustable baffle vanes for controlling the amount of air admitted into the room through the orifice.

United States Patent [1 1 Sproul, Sr.

[ Dec. 18, 1973 COMBINATION VALANCE AND CONDITIONED AIR ADMISSION DUCTFred C. Sproul, Sr., 12227 Ranch House Rd., San Diego, Calif. 92128 [22]Filed: June 28, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 157,282

[76] Inventor:

Primary E.raminerWilliam E. Wayner Attorney-Fowler, Knobbe & Martens[57] ABSTRACT In a structure adapted for human habitation there isprovided in the ceiling of a room an elongated aperture parallel to andclosely adjacent to a wall, particularly an outside wall provided with awindow with which there may be associated a drapery. Depending from theceiling paralleling and adjacent to the sides of the aperture areshallow and deep boards or panels, the former being located between thedrapery and the aperture, and the latter being on the other side of theaperture. Above the ceiling and in communication with the aperture inthe ceiling there is a plenum chamber to which is connected a duct forsupplying heated, cooled or otherwise controllably conditioned air tothe plenum chamber and through the aperture in the ceiling into theroom. The depth of the shallower of the panels is preferably such as tooverlap by a small amount the top of the drapery and thereby to serve asa baffle to direct the flow of air downwardly along the room side of thedrapery rather than to permit the air to enter the space between thedrapery and the window. The depth of the deeper board or panel islargely a matter of aesthetics, since it functions to serve as a valanceand conceal from view the shallow baffle board and the aperture in theceiling, except when the point of viewing is more or less directly belowthe valance boards, as well as serving the function of confining theinitial flow of air to a downward direction along the wall. The aperturemay be provided with adjustable baffle vanes for controlling the amountof air admitted into the room through the orifice.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 44 f6 HEATED 0a 600250 PATENTEDDEB 18 m5 sum10F 2 3779.150

INVENTOR. F950 6 520044, .52

PAIENIEnum ama 3. 779, 1 5O SHEET 2 BF 2 BY F 014 1 [6 OI/055i-COMBINATION VALANCE AND CONDITIONED AIR ADMISSION DUCT BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The heating of rooms in structures adapted for humanhabitation has generally involved any of three heating methods, onebeing the circulation of heated liquids in closed piping systems withradiation structures associated with the piping at the points where heatis to be diffused; another being the admission of heated air through oneor more diffusers into a room; still another being electrical resistanceunit heating with or without a blower for causing a flow of air past theheating unit. It has been considered good practice to locate the heatemitter along a part at least of the perimeter of the room, preferablyalong an outside wall of the room and especially below a window in anoutside wall where the temperature inside the room is most likely to beaffected adversely by the outside temperature, whether the result he awarming or a cooling of the inside room temperature.

Baseboard heaters, of aesthetically pleasing appearance and having builtin tubes for circulating water heated at a central point in.a furnacehave been em ployed to a considerable extent. These are reasonablysatisfactory where the structure has a basement or a crawl space belowthe ground floor of the structure affording access to the pipingassociated with the baseboard heating system. However, with thecurrently widely used concrete slab which supports a dwelling,necessitating as it does that the pipe connections to the baseboardheating units be embedded in the concrete, there arises the possibilityof costly and messy repairs in the event of the occurrence of leakage inthe embed ded piping. These possibilities are also present in the caseof so-called radiant heating, in which the pipes for conducting theheated liquid are embedded in the poured concrete floor to heat the roomby heating the concrete itself.

The concrete slab type of foundation for a dwelling is not well suitedto perimeter heating at the baseboard level using forced hot air as theheating medium because the concrete slab will not readily accommodateducts of sufficient cross-section to conduct the necessary amounts ofheated air, and unless such ducts are made of relatively heavy metal,much heavier than the usual hot air heating ducts, they are likely to becrushed and blocked off by the fluid concrete as it is being poured.

It has generally been the custom, in the case of dwellings built onconcrete slabs or dwellings having only a crawl space beneath theirground floors, to provide diffusers for heated air in the walls or theceilings of rooms, the ducts lying in the space between studs in thecase of wall diffusers, between joists in the case of ceiling diffusersfor rooms other than top floor rooms in dwellings, and in attics in thecase of single story dwellings or the top floors of multiple storydwellings. In the case of wall diffusers it has not been feasible tolocate them strategically relative to windows, and whether they havebeen located in walls or ceilings the diffusers have detracted from theoverall pleasing effect created by tastefully selected furnishings forthe room.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Because of the very prevalent custom ofproviding the windows on outside walls of dwellings with draperies hungon traverse rods, whereby the draperies may be drawn back to expose thewindow and admit light or may be drawn into place covering the window tokeep out light, heat or cold and also to afford privacy, and because itis an equally prevalent custom to associate with such a drapery avalance as long as the span of the drapery for concealing the rod fromwhich the drapery is suspended, when the drapery is open, it isproposed, in accordance with the present invention, to combine with sucha valance a conditioned air diffuser. In the preferred embodiment of theinvention the diffuser comprises an elongated relatively narrow aperturein the ceiling of the room, its extent, whether it be a singlecontinuous aperture or a plurality of aligned apertures, being generallyat least equal to the width of the window. Apertures extending alongsubstantially the entire exterior wall permit lower velocity of the airflowing into the room thereby creating less of a drafty feeling, whileat the same time providing an effective conditioned air shield along agreater portion of the exterior wall. The width is preferablysubstantially as great but not greater than the distance spanned by thedraperies associated with the window. Above the ceiling of the room, inthe case of a single-story dwelling in the attic, a plenum chamber islocated above and in communication with the aperture or alignedapertures in the ceiling and an air supply duct for supplying heated orcooled air to the plenum from a heating or air conditioning unit isprovided. Between the drapery and the aperture or apertures a shallowbaffle board depends from the ceiling, its principal function being todirect air emerging from the aperture downwardly from the aperture andto serve as a baffle to block a flow of air over the top of the draperyand into the space between the drapery and the window.

Along the opposite side of the aperture or apertures, the side towardthe center of the room, a valance board depends from the ceiling. Itsdepth is preferably suffcient to conceal from view the shallower baffleboard, which itself conceals the drapery rod, but more importantly thevalance board conceals the air diffuser from view except when suchviewing is done directly upwardly from below the valance board, anddirects the air downward along the exterior wall.

With this structure, there is achieved the very desirable result ofestablishing a layer of conditioned air along the exterior wall betweenthe window and the room, whether or not the drapery is drawn intoposition to conceal the window, and thereby the comfort in the room isenhanced. The valance board, in addition to concealing the components ashereinbefore mentioned, also directs the flow of air downwardly andassists in creating the wall of conditioned air between the window andthe room.

If desired, a valance of fabric, matching the drapery and pleated tocreate a pleasing appearance, may be attached to the valance board,thereby concealing the valance board itself and producing the familiarcombi nation of a drapery and a matching valance. In accordance with thepreferred embodiment of the invention, the aperture or apertures in theceiling may be provided with one or more adjustable closure vanes bymeans of which the quantity of conditioned air admitted to the roomthrough the aperture or apertures may be controlled.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a complete understanding of theinvention reference may be had to the following detailed description tobe interpreted in the light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a room, attic androof of a residential structure;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally on the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken generally on the line 33 ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings and particularly toFIG. 1, the reference numeral 12 designates an outside wall of aninhabitable structure such as a dwelling. At the point at which thesectional showing of FIG. 1 is taken, the wall 12 is provided withframing 14 for a window 16.

At its top, the wall 12 supports an end of each of a plurality ofceiling joists 18, the other end of each joist being supported byanother wall (not shown) of the structure. At its upper end, the wall 12also supports a plurality of rafters 20 which slope downwardly from aridge (not shown) and may extend beyond the wall as shown in FIG. 1,forming an eave. The rafters 20 support sheathing 22 which encloses theattic of the structure and which in turn supports finished surfacing,such as the shingles 24. The joists have attached to the lower surfacesthereof the ceiling 26 which may be of any conventional form, such aslath and plaster or plasterboard panels, sometimes called gypsum boardor drywall panels.

Joists and rafters are usually uniformly spaced, sometimes on 16-inchcenters, sometimes on 24-inch centers and the upper surface of theceiling structure is exposed to view between the joists in the attic,although it is a common practice to fill the space between joists withinsulating material.

In order to admit controllably conditioned air, conditioned as totemperature and if desired as to moisture content, to the room from theattic in the vicinity of the window 16 the ceiling may be provided withelongated apertures 28 located near and extending parallel to the wall12 and generally above the window 16. If the window is of greater widththan the space between two adjacent joists 18, two or more alignedapertures in the ceiling, each confined within the space between twoadjacent joists, may be provided as shown in FIG. 2. Each such aperturemay be as long as the distance between two adjacent joists or shorter asdesired. It is considered preferable to provide separate alignedapertures as indicated in FIG. 2 rather than to continue the aperturethrough the ceiling at a point where it crosses beneath a joist, sincethe joist itself would be a discontinuity and would divide the apertureinto parts so far as its effectiveness in passing air into the room isconcerned.

In order to provide for the admission of air into the room from theattic, a plenum chamber is provided above and in communication with theapertures 28 in the ceiling. A simple form of plenum chamber is shown inthe drawings and may be constructed of panels of plywood, particle boardor fiber board. It is comprised of generally triangularly shaped sidepanels attached to the outer surfaces of joists l8 and rafters, furringor spacing strips 32 of a thickness corresponding to the thickness ofthe joists l8 and the rafters 20 being required along one edge of eachof the panels 30 because of the offset between each joist 18 and therafter 20 above it, since the two lie side by side above the wall 12. Insome roof structures prefabricated trusses are employed to support theroof instead of separately applied joists and rafters, and some trussesare so constructed that the tie-beam or joist lies in the plane of therafter beam. In a roof constructed in this way the spacer or furringstrips 32 would not be required, since the triangular panels 30 wouldlie flat against the horizontal and inclined beams of the truss. The twopanels 30 are the end panels for the plenum chamber.

Between the top of the wall, which is usually hollow, and the aperture28 in the ceiling a closure panel 32 is installed, spanning the spacebetween adjacent joists and rafters. The panel 32 stands verticallybetween the upper surface of the ceiling 26 and the lower surface of thesheathing 22, and the tips of the triangular plates 30 may be cut off sothat the small ends of the panels 30 shall have surface-to-surfacecontact with the closure panel 32.

On the opposite side of the aperture or apertures 28 in the ceiling fromthe closure panel 32, and at any desired distance therefrom the plenumchamber is completed by a second closure panel 34 which extendsvertically from the upper surface of the ceiling 26 to the lower surfaceof the sheathing 22 and has surface-tosurface contact with the inner orlarge ends of the triangular end panels 30 of the plenum chamber. Theclosure panel 34 may be notched as necessary, at the corners and alsointermediate its ends to permit it to be fitted to the joists andrafters to provide a substantially completely enclosed plenum chamber.

The closure panel 34 is provided with an orifice for the entry into theplenum chamber of a duct 36 from a source 40 of heated or cooled orotherwise conditioned air, under pressure provided by a suitable blower.Although the conditioning unit 40 has been shown as being located in theattic it will be understood that it may be located at any appropriateplace in the dwelling and connected by the duct 36 to the plenumchamber.

As shown in FIG. 1, the window 16 may be provided with a drapery 41suspended by hooks 42 mounted in a track 44 which is shown in FIG. 1 asbeing secured to the ceiling, although traverse tracks or rods fordraperies are sometimes secured to the wall a short distance below theceiling. It will be understood that drapery traverse hardware may beprovided for moving the drapery back and forth on the track 44 toconceal or reveal the window.

Between the drapery 41 and the aperture 28 through which conditioned airis admitted to the room, there is secured to the ceiling a baffle boardor panel 46. The board 46 may be of any relatively stiff material suchas wood, plywood, fiber board or metal. Its principal function is toserve as a baffle to direct air admitted into the room through theaperture 28 downwardly and prevent the conditioned air from passingacross the top of the drapery 41 and downwardly into the space betweenthe drapery and the window when the drapery is drawn into position toconceal the window. Accordingly, its depth need be such as to extend ashort distance below the top of the drapery 41. Being mounted in closeproximity to the drapery traverse track 44 it also conceals the trackand drapery hooks from view except from a viewing point almost directlybelow the track 44. The length of the baffle board 46 is largely amatter of choice. In order to serve as a baffle it should at least becoextensive with the aperture or apertures 28 in the ceiling. If it isalso to serve the purpose of concealing the drapery traverse track 44,it should at least be coextensive with that track.

On the opposite side of the aperture 28 from the baffle board 46 avalance board 48 is secured to the ceiling. The valance board 48conceals the aperture 28 from view except from a viewing point generallydirectly below the aperture 28 and it is shown as being deeper than thebaffle board 46, for the purpose of concealing the board 46 from viewfrom anywhere in the room except a narrow zone in the vicinity of thewall 12. The valance board 48 also serves the additional purpose ofdirecting air entering the room through the aperture 28 downwardly intothe room rather than across the lower surface of the ceiling 26.

The length of the valance board 48 is, as in the case of the baffleboard 46, a matter of choice. As in the case of any valance it should belong enough to conceal those things that may be unpleasing to the sight.The ceiling apertures 28, the baffle board 46 and the drapery traversetrack 44 and hooks 42 may fall into this category. It should be notedthat if the window is not provided with a drapery, the baffle board 46may be omitted.

It will be understood that the valance board 48 may be ornamented asdesired to give it an attractive appearance. For example, it may bepainted or otherwise decorated to harmonize with the ceiling orfurnishings in the room. It may be covered with fabric matching orharmonizing with the fabric of the drapery, and it may have attached toits face a frontal in the form of a pleated hanging of fabric matchingthat of the drapery 41, thereby achieving the appearance of the usualvalance for a drapery.

Since it is desirable to be able to control the amount of air enteringthe room, there may be attached to the ceiling hinged damper of closurevanes 50 for the aperture or apertures 28. The hinge mountings for thevanes 50 are preferably friction hinges so that the vanes 50 will remainin any positions to which they are adjusted.

It will be understood that there are many ways of implementing thecombination air diffuser and valance structure within the contemplationof the invention. For example, the shallow and deep boards 46 and 48 maybe interconnected so as to be attachable to the ceiling 26 as a unitarystructure. The air admission apertures 28 may receive heat diffuserelements, made of metal or perhaps plastic, and including the damper ordeflector vanes 50. In fact, a unitary structure comprising a diffuserwith control vanes and the boards 46 and 48 might be installable intothe apertures 28 in the ceiling. Also a complete plenum chamber, ofsheet metal or other suitable material, might be installed as a unit inthe attic above the aperture 28, or the duct 36 might be fitted with anadapter conformed to the configuration of the aperture or apertures 28,thereby eliminating the plenum chamber.

It should be noted that in the drawings the invention has beenimplemented in relation to the delivery of air in the proximity of awall that supports and accordingly extends at right angles to the joistsand rafters. The invention is, of course, applicable to the delivery ofair adjacent to a wall which parallels the joists and the rafters. Inthat case, the aperture would parallel the joists and a differentlyconstructed plenum chamber would be employed.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination air emitter and valance for a room having walls and aceiling which comprises:

an overhead chamber associated with the ceiling and having at least aportion thereof in a position of close proximity to a wall;

an elongated aperture in the chamber facing downwardly in closeproximity to the wall and paralleling the wall for venting the chamberto the room;

means for generating a flow of air from the chamber through the apertureand into the room;

a suspended valance member adjacent to the side of the aperture mostremote from the wall for optimum concealment of the aperture from viewwithin the room;

a drapery and means for suspending the drapery between the aperture andthe wall to which the aperture is adjacent; and

a baffle member extending downwardly between the aperture and thedrapery suspending means for minimizing entry of air emitted from theaperture into the space between the drapery and the wall and forconcealing the drapery suspending means.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the depth of thevalance member exceeds that of the baffle member sufficiently to affordoptimum concealment of the baffle member from view within the room.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including means associated withthe aperture for varying its air emitting capability below apredetermined maximum.

4. Apparatus for supplying treated air to a ceilinged room from abovecomprising:

a plenum chamber disposed above the ceiling of the room and incommunication with the room through an elongated aperture in the ceilingof the room adjacent to a wall of the room with the major axis of theaperture generally parallel with said wall;

a duct for admitting treated air under pressure to said plenum chamber;

a baffle member at least co-extensive with the aperture extendingdownwardly from the ceiling adjacent to the edge of the aperture mostremote from the wall for directing the flow of treated air downwardlyand for concealing the aperture from view over a major portion of theroom;

a window in said wall co-extensive at least to a major extent with saidaperture; and

a drapery suspended above said window and presentable in coveringrelation to said window, said baffle member serving in relation to saiddrapery as a valance to conceal the upper part of said drapery as wellas said aperture.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including an ornamentalattachment for the face of the baffle member comprised of fabricmatching that of the drapery and simulating a conventional matchingdrapery valance.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including a second baffle memberextending downwardly from the ceiling between the aperture and thedrapery a sufficient distance to overlap the top of the drapery anddirect the flow of treated air from the aperture away from the top ofthe drapery and downwardly along the face of the drapery presentedtoward the room.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the depth offirst-mentioned baffle member exceeds the depth of the second bafflemember sufficiently to conceal the second baffle from view over a majorportion of the room.

8. Apparatus for controllably conditioning the air in a room having awindow in an outside wall, comprising means for suspending a drapery tocover the window;

a drapery suspendable from said suspending means and presentable incovering relation to the window;

a ceiling for the room having an elongated aperture in front of thedrapery and co-extensive with said window over a major portion of itswidth;

a plenum chamber disposed above the ceiling and in communication withthe aperture;

means for supplying conditioned air under pressure to the plenum chamberand thus through the aperture into the room;

a barrier member abutting the ceiling and extending downwardly therefrombetween the aperture and the drapery a sufficient distance to overlapthe top of the drapery and deflect air downwardly in front of thedrapery and away from the top of the drapery as well as to conceal thedrapery suspending means;

and a valance member abutting the ceiling and extending downwardlytherefrom on the far side of the aperture from the wall for concealingthe barrier member and the aperture in the ceiling from view over amajor portion of the room.

1. A combination air emitter and valance for a room having walls and aceiling which comprises: an overhead chamber associated with the ceilingand having at least a portion thereof in a position of close proximityto a wall; an elongated aperture in the chamber facing downwardly inclose proximity to the wall and paralleling the wall for venting thechamber to the room; means for generating a flow of air from the chamberthrough the aperture and into the room; a suspended valance memberadjacent to the side of the aperture most remote from the wall foroptimum concealment of the aperture from view within the room; a draperyand means for suspending the drapery between The aperture and the wallto which the aperture is adjacent; and a baffle member extendingdownwardly between the aperture and the drapery suspending means forminimizing entry of air emitted from the aperture into the space betweenthe drapery and the wall and for concealing the drapery suspendingmeans.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the depth of thevalance member exceeds that of the baffle member sufficiently to affordoptimum concealment of the baffle member from view within the room. 3.Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including means associated with theaperture for varying its air emitting capability below a predeterminedmaximum.
 4. Apparatus for supplying treated air to a ceilinged room fromabove comprising: a plenum chamber disposed above the ceiling of theroom and in communication with the room through an elongated aperture inthe ceiling of the room adjacent to a wall of the room with the majoraxis of the aperture generally parallel with said wall; a duct foradmitting treated air under pressure to said plenum chamber; a bafflemember at least co-extensive with the aperture extending downwardly fromthe ceiling adjacent to the edge of the aperture most remote from thewall for directing the flow of treated air downwardly and for concealingthe aperture from view over a major portion of the room; a window insaid wall co-extensive at least to a major extent with said aperture;and a drapery suspended above said window and presentable in coveringrelation to said window, said baffle member serving in relation to saiddrapery as a valance to conceal the upper part of said drapery as wellas said aperture.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including anornamental attachment for the face of the baffle member comprised offabric matching that of the drapery and simulating a conventionalmatching drapery valance.
 6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4including a second baffle member extending downwardly from the ceilingbetween the aperture and the drapery a sufficient distance to overlapthe top of the drapery and direct the flow of treated air from theaperture away from the top of the drapery and downwardly along the faceof the drapery presented toward the room.
 7. Apparatus in accordancewith claim 6 in which the depth of first-mentioned baffle member exceedsthe depth of the second baffle member sufficiently to conceal the secondbaffle from view over a major portion of the room.
 8. Apparatus forcontrollably conditioning the air in a room having a window in anoutside wall, comprising means for suspending a drapery to cover thewindow; a drapery suspendable from said suspending means and presentablein covering relation to the window; a ceiling for the room having anelongated aperture in front of the drapery and co-extensive with saidwindow over a major portion of its width; a plenum chamber disposedabove the ceiling and in communication with the aperture; means forsupplying conditioned air under pressure to the plenum chamber and thusthrough the aperture into the room; a barrier member abutting theceiling and extending downwardly therefrom between the aperture and thedrapery a sufficient distance to overlap the top of the drapery anddeflect air downwardly in front of the drapery and away from the top ofthe drapery as well as to conceal the drapery suspending means; and avalance member abutting the ceiling and extending downwardly therefromon the far side of the aperture from the wall for concealing the barriermember and the aperture in the ceiling from view over a major portion ofthe room.